INSTABILITY WEIGHED PADRES DOWN IN PAST
TEAM TURMOIL TRIES TO EMBRACE STABILITY

Turnover among Padres owners, GMs has contributed to deficient player development

Mike Dee never truly leaves a team behind. Not completely, at least not in spirit.

That’s why you’ll find the new Padres president catching the Dolphins in a Monday Night Football game in a conference room at Petco Park, why he was pulling for the Padres seven years ago in the last playoff push and why he hurt for his friends in San Diego when the front office carousel began to spin after Dee first followed former Padres President Larry Lucchino to Boston more than a decade ago.

Four team presidents, three ownership groups and a number of front office personnel and philosophy changes later, the Padres are still picking up the pieces of identity crises that have played a role in the organization posting losing records five of the past six seasons.

“We’ve been through a lot of turmoil and a lot of changes — whether you’re talking about the owners or CEOs or (other front office personnel) — since my departure,” said Dee, who has spent the last 12 years in the front offices of the Red Sox and Dolphins after seven years as a top aide to Lucchino in San Diego. “It’s been anything but stable.

“It starts with ownership and their long-term commitment, but it’s impossible if you don’t have a stable, entrenched front office to have consistency year in and year out. It takes time for a team to mature, like it takes time for a team on the field to come together.”

Tapped as the Padres’ fifth president since Lucchino departed in 2001, Dee is stressing stability as he settles back into a franchise presented with all sorts of hurdles in the years following its second World Series berth in 1998.

The Padres’ payroll can’t compete with the Yankees’ or now even the Dodgers, they’ve routinely misfired at the top of their drafts and the revolving doors in the front office and owners’ box have made it difficult to focus on a philosophy capable of contending with some of the game’s more in-sync franchises.

In other words, catch-up hasn’t been exactly easy, but the inroads appear to be in motion as Josh Byrnes begins his third offseason as Padres general manager and fourth overall with the organization.

“I’ve been around this organization for 30 years, and at times we’ve been disjointed,” said Randy Smith, a former GM now overseeing player development and international scouting with the Padres. “Right now, as far as having everyone on the same page, it’s as good as it’s ever been. From scouting to player development to the major league staff, we’re all on the same page.”

Change of plans

Being on the same page hasn’t always been the case in San Diego, particularly in the years following Lucchino’s departure.

Try to get your head around all this:

Then-owner John Moores’ immediate picks to run the club — CEO Bob Vizas and President Charles Black — didn’t last past 2002.

At first, GM Kevin Towers reported directly to Moores and then later to Dick Freeman, who had been brought back in the mix for his second stint as team president.